


Falling Snow

by 360loverpenguin



Category: Avatar: The Last Airbender
Genre: Alternate Universe - College/University, Alternate Universe - Modern Setting, Christmas Fluff, F/M, Hot Chocolate, Road Trip, Suki gets stuck in a blizzard and meets someone in a similar situation at a small cafe, Sukka Week 2020, Yes I wrote a Christmas fic in the middle of August.
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-08-31
Updated: 2020-08-31
Packaged: 2021-03-07 00:22:22
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 3,437
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/26207878
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/360loverpenguin/pseuds/360loverpenguin
Summary: Suki quickly scanned the room as she took a step in from the door. Every table was packed as waiters skated between them easily, barely wasting the energy to cast her a tired glance as they passed by. Finally, her gaze landed on a booth on the far side of the cafe, filled by only a single occupant. A cool relief hit her at that. Sitting in her freezing car or forcing her way back onto the highway didn't sound like the most pleasant ways to spend her night.He looked to be about her age, dark brown hair tied back into a messy ponytail as he buried his face into his laptop. Suki sat down on the seat across from him.Sokka looked up from his screen, slightly startled by her sudden appearance. “Uh… hi?”“Look, I’ve been driving in that storm for the past four hours, and I really just need a coffee. Can I sit here? Please?” There was less of a question in her voice than a statement, but she was too tired to pay much mind to that.“You already did,” he said, tossing her a playful wink.Suki blew her bangs away from her face, “Maybe I should've picked another booth,” she said, sarcasm underlining her tone.
Relationships: Sokka/Suki (Avatar)
Comments: 7
Kudos: 58





	Falling Snow

**Author's Note:**

> “if you meet somebody and your heart pounds, your hands shake, your knees go weak, that’s not the one. When you meet your ‘soul mate’ you’ll feel calm.” - Monica Drake
> 
> Written for the prompt 'Road Trip' for Sukka Week 2020!! I've had this idea since Christmas, but I haven't gotten around to writing it until now. Hope you enjoy!!

Suki drummed her fingers impatiently against the steering wheel, lightly tapping her boot against the gas pedal as she forced her car inches further. The car behind her danced against the trunk of hers, causing her to angrily slam her gloved fist against the horn, the loud noise raising far above the faint music trailing from the speakers.

She squinted ahead onto the highway, sighing. The snow was so thick she could barely see the faintly glowing taillights from the car in front of her. She wasn't going anywhere tonight. Suki could probably count on one hand the amount of feet she had travelled in the past hour. She shifted the pale green coat around on her lap in an antsy manner, rubbing at her tired eyes as they blearily remained on the road before her.

What a way to end Christmas break. At this rate, it’d take her all semester to make it back to the University. She kept her foot grazing lightly over the brake as she sat there, annoyance greatening as the thick snow flakes seemed to swirl around one another in an even faster manner, taunting her frozen status.

She tugged off one of her gloves, reaching for her phone from where it had been discarded on the passenger seat. The metal was cool against her skin as she flicked open her navigation app, long route back to the school etched onto the screen. Ice warning possible. Yeah. No kidding. The characters that had read ‘five hours remaining’ a few miles ago were now raised much higher due to road closures. Near double.

She tossed the device back where she had retrieved it from, not bothering to shut the offending thing off, glow contrasting the dark car. Suki caught a hint of a reflection from a sign to her right, squinting her eyes harshly in hopes of making out the characters. The car in front of her moved a few feet forward, Suki exhaling slightly as she pulled up behind it, sign now mere feet away.

It was an exit for a single cafe that she could barely make out just off the bustling road. In fact, the only discernible sign a building was there at all was the chipped neon sign baring the name of the establishment standing in the midst of a small sea of cars.

Flipping her turning signal on without a second thought, she edged her car closer to the boarder where the concrete met the grass, now buried beneath a heap of snow, hoping to slip into the exit along with the many others who had also grown sick of being stuck in the blizzard.

——

In hindsight, Suki probably shouldn't have been surprised to find the small restaurant completely filled. After all, everyone was searching for a way off of the rapidly closing roads. She glanced around the building, the heat much too high for a room with so many people as it pressed uncomfortably into her cheeks. A Christmas song that sounded vaguely familiar rang faintly from a cracking speaker in the corner of the room, clearly as exhausted as most of the customers.

She quickly scanned the room as she took a step in from the door. Every table was packed as waiters skated between them easily, barely wasting the energy to cast her a tired glance as they passed by. Finally, her gaze landed on a booth on the far side of the cafe, filled by only a single occupant. A cool relief hit her at that. Sitting in her freezing car or forcing her way back onto the highway didn't sound like the most pleasant ways to spend her night.

He looked to be about her age, dark brown hair tied back into a messy ponytail as he buried his face into his laptop. He typed quickly, faint blue glow lighting up the way his brow furrowed in concentration. Suki sat down on the seat across from him.

Sokka looked up from his screen, slightly startled by her sudden appearance. “Uh… hi?” he offered, raising his brow towards her.

“Look, I’ve been driving in that storm for the past four hours, and I really just need a coffee. If you haven't noticed, every other table is full.” She gestured out into the room, “Can I sit here? Please?” There was less of a question in her voice than a statement, but she was too tired to pay much mind to that.

“You already did,” he said, tossing her a playful wink as he turned back to his work for a moment, making a few errant clicks on the screen.

Suki blew her bangs away from her face as she pulled off her thick winter hat, tossing it haphazardly onto the portion of the cracked plastic seat lying next to her. “Maybe I should've picked another booth,” she said, sarcasm underlining her tone.

“Hey, you're the one who chose to share, not me. I humbly allowed you to take that seat. I could’ve had friends coming, you don't know,” Sokka said, every bit as snarky as her. He shut his laptop, pushing it to the side of the table, alongside a few discarded paper cups, as he looked over to her.

Suki raised her eyebrow at him. His worn sweater, crafted from a dark blue fabric, jostled slightly as he chuckled silently.

“I said I could’ve. I didn't say I did.” He laughed at the deadpan look she flashed him at that, loudly this time as his grin poured over into his crystal blue eyes.

It felt familiar somehow. She could've sworn she’d heard that obnoxious sound somewhere before. “You’re in college right?” Suki didn't wait for him to answer, “What school do you go to?”

He crossed his arms as he leaned relaxedly onto the small table. “The University over in Republic City, why?” he asked, clearly not having recognized her in return.

“I knew I’d seen you on campus before! You’re… friends with Aang, right?” she asked, smiling slightly as she peeled her coat off of herself, the room much too warm to warrant the layer of clothing.

He nodded, “I’ve known him since high school. I’m Sokka.”

“Suki.” She gave him her name in return, letting her annoyance slip away as they settled into their seats. After all, it looked like they’d be stuck there a while. A quick glance out the dark window confirmed that the storm had gotten even worse - something Suki hadn't really thought possible - the snowflakes growing larger as they mixed in with chunks of hail.

His next sentence cut off by a waiter appearing next to them. “What can I get you?” the woman said, not bothering with formalities as she slowly tapped the pen she held against her notepad.

——

“Sorry for taking your seat,” Suki said, hands cupped around her steaming cup of coffee, heat comforting as it bored into her skin through the cheap paper cup. She took a long sip, any remnants of the chill the storm had painted on her falling away. “Actually, you were really annoying at first, so maybe I’m not that sorry.” She smiled at him as she set her drink aside.

He laughed breathily in response, only half committing to rolling his eyes. Pausing for a moment, he shrugged. “S’not a big deal. Believe it or not, it gets pretty boring sitting alone in a cafe for…” He pulled his phone from the pocket of his hoodie, tapping it awake with one swift motion. Sokka audibly groaned; “Six hours.”

“Yikes. What happened?” she asked, watching as he buried himself in his phone for a moment.

“My dumb sister just had to visit her boyfriend, so now I’m stuck here,” he said, clicking on the voicemail glaring across the screen.

Suki raised her eyebrow at him, returning to her drink as she waited for his explanation. In response to her silent prompt, Sokka hit the speaker button, allowing Katara’s voice to crack through into the buzzing restaurant, barely loud enough for both to hear despite their closeness.

“Hey Sokka. Roads are still shut down here so I’m stuck overnight. Sorry you're still waiting at the restaurant… are you sure there isn't anyway you can get back to dad’s?” The audio cut out slightly before the message ended; a tribute to the still raging blizzard outside.

Suki winced in sympathy at that as he slid the device towards the corner of the table, right next to three empty cups resembling the one she held at the moment.

“She was meant to pick me up here, since it’s on the way back to school, but apparently couldn't be bothered to leave before the storm hit,” he explains, piecing together the missing info of the situation.

“How’d you get here then?” she asks, genuinely curious.

He loudly sipped his hot chocolate before he spoke. “Bus, but clearly-“ Sokka gestured towards the wall of white pressed firmly against the small window, inside lined with fog, “- they’re all shut down by now. I don't have a chance of getting home tonight even if they do open the main road.”

“The highway is open; not that it matters with all the traffic stopped outside,” she sighed, rubbing her fist against one eye, “Guess we’re stuck here for a while, huh?”

Sokka surprisingly smiled back at her, “Could be worse.”

——

The next few hours were a blur, and honestly, Suki probably wouldn't have been able to remember the specifics the next morning. She couldn't forget how it felt though, both throwing their heads back in laughter as the stars stretched across the sky outside, far beyond the steady beat of the snow. It felt warm, and not just from the constant thrum of the heater somewhere outside the booth that temporarily served as their own private world.

She couldn't help but notice the way Sokka’s eyes would light up every time he got excited about something; which she was learning was quite often, nor the way their conversation flowed freely, jumping from one topic to the next and never dulling, never fading. He made her laugh and roll her eyes more times than she could count, her sour mood carried away with the whipping winds of the storm.

Loud as he may have been, he would always fall silent to listen to her intently, quick to counter all her arguments as their discussions brimmed with banter over more hot drinks.

“Wait wait wait,” Sokka said, his voice bringing her wandering mind back to the present, “You mean you’ve never seen The Incredibles? It’s a classic!” He put too much inflection into his voice for the simple statement, making Suki bite down on a laugh as she shook her head.

“It came out like ten years ago! You can’t call it a classic,” she returned, barely a breath passing.

She snorted at the outright offended look that passed his face. He reached into is backpack, silent as he dug around one of the dark pockets for a moment. Fishing out a pair of earbuds, he moved to grab his laptop, headphones making a clicking sound as they lightly tapped against the device. “You can say that after you’ve seen it,” he declared, “And then you can humbly apologize for being absolutely incorrect.”

He stood, crossing the booth to sit next to her so they could share the small screen. As he queued up the movie, Suki grabbed her own headphones from her coat’s pocket, roughly shoving them into the splitter poking out the side of the computer.

“Comes with having a sister,” he said, mimicking her motions as he pressed play.

The opening theme filled their ears, much louder than it should've been, and Suki settled in to the film, leaning slightly into Sokka’s side. Their sweaters brushed against one another as they both intently watched the movie begin to unfold, surroundings fading away from them like melting snow as they did.

——

The screen faded to black as the final frame of the movie played. Suki’s mouth fell open slightly as she slowly tugged her headphones away from her ears. It took her nearly a full minute of aimlessly watching the credits scroll across the screen before she finally managed to turn to face him.

She was met with an expression so snarky she couldn't help but elbow him in the side, shock fading away as she slowly returned to the small cafe.

He laughed, halfheartedly rubbing at his side where she’d attacked. “I was right. You loved it.” Sokka’s smile was subtler now, more genuine as he shut the film off.

She let out a breathy sigh. “Yeah, okay. I’ll admit it; it’s a classic.”

Sokka stood to return to his seat set across from her, excited expression still dancing over his features as he shoved his computer back into his stuffed backpack.

The space next to Suki went cold as he moved away, despite the constant heat pouring from the building. She found a small part of herself missing the warm, comfortable way they had relaxed together.

“If we ever actually make it back… you should come to my dorm sometime to watch the sequel. I think you’d like it,” he said, stretching his arms tiredly behind his head.

“I’d like that.” Stifling a yawn, she turned her gaze over to the small window to her right.

The snowflakes now danced slowly downward, freezing midair for a fleeting moment on their path. They no longer created a picture made of solid white. She noticed she could see all the way out to the highway now, the rows of cars now thrumming in constant motion.

She dragged her eyes around the room, the quick gesture confirming that their table was one of the last ones filled, everyone else having filed back out into the cold long ago. Suki couldn't for the life of her recall if it had been before or after the movie started.

Sokka’s gaze followed hers to the window, his smile cracking slightly, “You should probably get going, huh?” Neither needed their devices to tell them it was long after midnight.

Suki nodded, standing to pull her coat back on, the melted snow long dried by now. “Yeah. Still a few hours back to campus. Thanks, Sokka.”

He turned back to his phone as he spoke, “Hope I see you around then.”

She frowned, feeling slightly guilty about just leaving him stuck there the rest of the night. After a moment of hovering next to the booth, Suki wanted to smack herself for taking so long to speak her next sentence; the obvious solution. “Come with me.”

Sokka smiled after a moment, looking up to meet her eyes, “You sure?” She nodded. “Thanks, Suki.”

He slung his bag over his shoulder, quickly packing up his things as they began to exit the building. The remaining staff cast them tired glances on their way out; evidently glad to have less customers to deal with as late as it was.

She shivered as the harsh winter air slammed against her, wind picking up in her ears as they stepped out of the warm light. She cast Sokka a look out of the corner of her eye, “You really don't have a coat? Aren’t you freezing?” Her voice was louder than intended as it cut through the silent parking lot.

“We used to live pretty far up north, guess I got used to the cold.” In contrast to his words, he shrugged deeper into his sweater. Suki rolled her eyes as she opened her car’s door.

The second they escaped the frigid air into the small car, Sokka snatched the aux cord from where it was tangled on one of the seats, quickly plugging it into his phone.

Suki snorted at that, “Way to takeover my car,” she said, flicking on the heat as she started towards the highway.

Sokka didn't miss a beat with his reply; “Way to takeover my booth.” They both laughed softly at that, silence falling over them for a moment as he searched for ‘the perfect song’.

As they merged into one of the lanes, headlights cutting a path for them through the night, the all too familiar chords made their way through the air. “No. You are not playing this song.” Suki was glad it was too dark for him to see the smile she was fighting off her lips.

Sokka merely smirked in return, beginning to jokingly sing along to the male vocals of the song, “Baby it’s cold outside,” he started, elbowing her to join in.

“It’s not even Christmas!” She talked over the radio as she forced herself to keep from laughing at the way Sokka dramatically mimicked holding a microphone.

“I’ll hold you hands, they’re just like ice,” He couldn't keep a straight face to hit the right note at the end of that lyric. “C’mon Suki, you know you wanna.”

She sighed halfheartedly, turning up the volume as she joined in, the pair laughing every bit as much as they were singing (something neither of them were particularly skilled at). The notes poured through the car, making the long journey before them seem a little less tedious as they lost themselves in the rhythm.

——

The song came to a close, and honestly, Suki had lost count of how many they had flipped through, a portion of their journey already behind them. She coughed into the silence as Sokka searched for the next one, throat tired from belting out the familiar lyrics to old Christmas songs.

“Suki, look!” His voice startled her slightly after the few minutes of fragile quiet. He eagerly gestured out the window to a vibrant neon sign splashed bright against the darkened sky, snow lightly grazing the letters boasting the name of the cafe; not unlike the one they had just parted from. “We have to stop there for hot chocolate!”

“We’ve only been driving for, like twenty minutes! We’re not stopping.” She laughed breathily as she shook her head.

“But they make the best flavours! Please? Dad used to take Katara and I there all the time growing up,” he countered, eyes still locked on the passing building.

“Sokka, it’s two thirty in the morning, do you really think it’s still open?”

Sokka’s mouth fell open, a protest dying on his lips as he took in the darkened windows. She was right. His mouth fell shut into a frown as he sighed slightly.

The building disappeared into the night behind them, and vast fields took its’ place to their side as they continued silently biting into their journey. The roads were mostly empty now, a few blips of light only crossing their paths inconsistently; most were wisely home by now.

After a few minutes of driving quietly, Sokka finally smiled, turning to fully look at Suki. “I’ll just have to take you there next year then.”

——

The sun spilled over the edge of the horizon as it rose, bathing the parking lot in a soft glow as it crested against the mounds of snow shoved to the sides. The familiar buildings that made up their university towered on all sides of them, now lying completely silent at the early hour as Sokka pulled into a free spot.

He reached over to the passenger seat, gently shaking Suki’s shoulder to wake her. “Suki? We’re here.”

She slowly forced herself to sit up, stretching her neck as she did so. Turns out sleeping curled up in a moving car isn't the most comfortable thing in the world. She yawned, “What time is it?”

“Too early to be awake,” he muttered, still smiling regardless of how exhausted he felt. Sokka slung his backpack over his arm, stumbling slightly as he stepped outside, cool air refreshing as it sent a jolt of energy through him.

Suki grabbed her own things, not bothering to put her winter jacket back on as she fell out into the morning air.

“Thank you,” Sokka said quietly, “For everything.”

Her lips turned up into a smile, “Never thought I’d have that much fun getting stuck in a blizzard.”

Their eyes remained locked for a long second that seemed to freeze time for a fleeting moment. Blue met violet and swirled together in a beautiful painting.

Sokka cleared his throat finally, ducking his head as he turned to head towards his building, footsteps echoing loudly as he did.

Suki did the same, after a few paces calling out, “I don't want to wait till next Christmas for our first date though!” She didn't have to turn around to see his goofy smile.


End file.
